Fast-track Pass Is A Bad Idea

Congress must soon decide whether or not to give the president "Fast Track" authority. It's a bad idea.

Fast Track would pave the way for passage of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, or NAFTA for 34 countries in this hemisphere.

NAFTA hasn't worked, and FTAA would be an even bigger disaster. Since NAFTA was passed in 1994, over 760,000 American jobs have been certified lost. Real wages have declined despite productivity increases. The environment along the U.S.-Mexico border has worsened.

FTAA will do nothing to stop illegal immigration. FTAA would continue to move U.S. jobs south, and put Central American workers in competition with relatively well-paid Mexican workers. Business Week, in its April 29 issue, reported that maquiladoras are closing down: over 240,000 jobs since January 2001. Where are these workers going to go?

NAFTA contains a provision that allows foreign corporations to challenge U.S. state and local legislation and regulations that impede "future profits." FTAA has the same provision. In one of over a dozen cases, California has repeatedly delayed implementing its ban on MTBE in gasoline because of a billion-dollar suit by a Canadian company. Legislators nationwide are intimidated from acting in the public interest by even the possibility of such suits.

NAFTA and FTAA are bad for labor, the environment, public welfare and anyone who cares about preserving our democracy.